Archive for the ‘Nikon Nikkor 80-200 Reviews’ Category

“a must own”

This lens is THE lens to own if you want to shoot indoor sports. The newspaper I work for has me out on a lot of volleyball, hockey and basketball beats, and this lens does not come off my camera. I have taken this lens out to soccer games and baseball games but use it mainly as back up. If you want to shoot these sports you’ll want something up in the 300-400 range. Soccer especially.

The 2.8 aperture is a must for these low (and orange/brown) light situations. I was using a 200mm f4 but fell just short of being able to freeze the action perfectly without any blur. The little bit of extra light makes a world of difference.

I shoot with a D80 and find that I can keep my ISO down around 400 and be very comfortable with the results. In my situation (newsprint) I could go as high as 800 and be alright with it, but the glass in this lens lets me keep it low.

If you are in the fence, pick this lens up. For under 1000 bucks you can’t beat it. It’s ultra wide, and doesn’t lose any sharpness at 2.8.

The only situation where you should not buy this lens is if you own a D40 or D40x. These bodies will not support the AF function of this lens, and seeing as how this is a great medium tele sports lens, not having AF would make this lens a bust.

They make a version with a built in motor that will communicate the D40 and D40x but it’ll cost you close to 800 more.

As a side note this lens is heavy (as are most 2.8 tele lenses) There is a lot of big glass in this lens and after an hour or so of shooting hand held you will really want a mono pod. This lens has a great tripod shoe, so don’t be afraid to throw it up on mono and go to town, your arms will appreciate the help

One final note. If you are undecided about this lens because it does not have any sort of optical stabilization or vibration reduction consider what you will be using this for. If you are shooting sports or action you wont need and it wont use it. If you are shooting from a tripod or good mono pod, you wont need and wont use it. The VR is only good in handheld situations when the object you are photographing is stationary.

“Good value for a great lens”

This lens is super sharp and well built. Yes it is heavy but I expected that for an F2.8 lens. I have used it twice now for photographing motorsports and it produced sharp shots due to it’s excellent optics and the ability to increase the shutter speed. I use it on a Nikon D200 and it focuses very quickly and accurately and balances well with the MB-D200 battery pack attached. If it has a weakness it would be the switch for manual focus; not a deal breaker but an inconvenience. Overall I gave it top marks because of it’s excellent image taking ability and durable design. I expect to have this lens for a long time.

“Quick and clean”

The lens shown here is great. I just got mine the other day and right when I saw it i loved it. I was recommended to this product by a friend of mine. I really wanted a fast lens for sport and indoor photography and I didnt have over $1000 so this ruled out the nikon 70-200 f2.8 lens. I only tried it out on a handful of occasions but the results so far was amazing. The actual lens is very big and very heavy. I dont think the pictures here do the lens very much justice. I recommend this lens to anyone who shoots pictures in poor lighting or just wants that nice soft blurry background for portrait pics.

“Fast and Sharp”

Pros:
Crystal clear images. Large aperture is also a handy thing. The build seems as solid as anyone would need. The optical quality is a bit better than the ultra zooms in the same price range. Finally, with the designated hood, on a large DSLR, you’ll get respect regardless of your skill level. It looks classy.
Cons:
Like everyone else has said for years, it’s heavy, and with the lighter, newer lenses coming out, I imagine this one will be purchased less and less. Don’t buy this lens for use of macro setting, it’s not as close you may need.

Comments:
Don’t even think about buying a previous version of this lens without the tripod collar on it. That’s your only prayer of getting sharp images, because of the weight of the lens.
This is awesome, and more than worth the money. You may never need to upgrade unless you really find it necessary for the VR function on the new stuff.

“My favorite lens – it does weight a ton (and a half)”

Okay, if you got the dough to shelf out ~$1700 for the VR 70-200, go for it. Stabilization can really help with this kind of heavy lens. This sucker does weight close to 3 pounds by itself, and personally a beautiful lens to behold. It’s very well constructed and takes great picture too.

I use this on a D80, typically shoot aperature priority. It’s very sharp but does exhibit slight distortion at widest aperature. Dial it down to around f/4, it gets super sharp. The AF is fast on the D80, and switching to manual zone is a breeze.

If you’re not a tripod/monopod person, you’ll be looking for bracing a lot when shooting. Steady hands and a tree… Minimum focus distance is 5.5′